Anthony Edwards’ attorney issues statement about chair incident
Oct 26, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Edwards (1) reacts to a call by referee Cheryl Flores in the first quarter of the game with the San Antonio Spurs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Edwards was cited for two charges of third-degree assault following the Minnesota Timberwolves’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, but his attorney says the claims are “baseless.”
Edwards was frustrated that his team’s season came to an end and was seen picking up a chair and swinging it as he was heading towards the tunnel after the game. Police said a security guard was hit in the back by the chair and a second worker was also hit. Both employees say they were injured and asked to file charges.
You can see a video of the incident here.
The Timberwolves’ team bus leaving Ball Arena was held up so that police could cite Edwards for the incident. But on Thursday, Edwards’ attorney Harvey Steinberg claimed the former No. 1 overall pick was merely moving a chair out of his way.
A statement to @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport from attorney Harvey Steinberg on behalf of client Anthony Edwards: “As video of incident confirms, Anthony did not swing chair at anyone and of course did not intend to hurt anyone…intends to vigorously defend against these baseless… pic.twitter.com/UBN2gHexQa
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 27, 2023
“With the game over, Anthony’s exit from the court was partially obstructed by a chair, which he moved and set down three steps later,” Steinberg said in a statement. “As video of the incident confirms, Anthony did not swing the chair at anyone and of course did not intend to hurt anyone. Despite these innocent facts, the Denver Police Department inexplicably chose to charge Anthony with two counts of misdemeanor assault. Anthony intends to vigorously defend against these baseless charges.”
While Edwards clearly did not intend to injure anyone, he did appear to swing the chair.
Edwards promised after his team fell behind 3-0 in the series that the Timberwolves weren’t done. Though they were able to win Game 4, the series came to an end a game later.